Bonnie DeMoss
asked
Adria Carmichael:
Hi Adria. I've been reading the Juche series from the start and I have a question about your main character, Areum. She comes across as selfish, angry, and rude to her family especially in the first book, and it has continued, but with a tiny bit of softening over three books. She is still pretty unlikeable. Can you explain Areum's attitude and how she might evolve in future books?
Adria Carmichael
Hi Bonnie,
Thank you for the interesting question!
Well, I have always been interested in psychology and been fascinated by the concept of brainwashing and indoctrination, so when I came up with the idea to write a book many years ago, I decided I wanted to explore that topic from the viewpoint of a victim of indoctrination… which in the end became Areum. The rejection she feels from her family, which is a central part of the story, was a necessary aspect to make her sufficiently susceptible to the indoctrination (which coincidentally preaches that love should only be felt for the Great General, and not for your family).
Basically what I’m trying to explore in this story is how deep the indoctrination of a 14-year old girl can run and how much “reality” it can be exposed to before breaking… if it will break at all. The defectors from North Korea who arrive in South Korea, for example, are isolated for three months in a de-programming facility called Hanawon where they go through this process in a more controlled (and less brutal) way than Areum is to achieve this purpose.
So, yes… Areum is completely unlikable and her behavior and thoughts appear erratic, and it is like that because she doesn’t know she has been indoctrinated and her brain is vehemently resisting to accept a reality that contradicts everything she has ever been taught. I can completely understand if some readers feel disappointed after reading the first book and Areum is just as arrogant and annoying as she was in the beginning of it, but that’s simply because her development will happen over the course of nine books, and the first book serves more of an introduction to the story. That wasn’t the original plan, but that’s how it turned out 😊
Hope this answered your question (and didn’t give away too many spoilers 😊 )
Thank you for the interesting question!
Well, I have always been interested in psychology and been fascinated by the concept of brainwashing and indoctrination, so when I came up with the idea to write a book many years ago, I decided I wanted to explore that topic from the viewpoint of a victim of indoctrination… which in the end became Areum. The rejection she feels from her family, which is a central part of the story, was a necessary aspect to make her sufficiently susceptible to the indoctrination (which coincidentally preaches that love should only be felt for the Great General, and not for your family).
Basically what I’m trying to explore in this story is how deep the indoctrination of a 14-year old girl can run and how much “reality” it can be exposed to before breaking… if it will break at all. The defectors from North Korea who arrive in South Korea, for example, are isolated for three months in a de-programming facility called Hanawon where they go through this process in a more controlled (and less brutal) way than Areum is to achieve this purpose.
So, yes… Areum is completely unlikable and her behavior and thoughts appear erratic, and it is like that because she doesn’t know she has been indoctrinated and her brain is vehemently resisting to accept a reality that contradicts everything she has ever been taught. I can completely understand if some readers feel disappointed after reading the first book and Areum is just as arrogant and annoying as she was in the beginning of it, but that’s simply because her development will happen over the course of nine books, and the first book serves more of an introduction to the story. That wasn’t the original plan, but that’s how it turned out 😊
Hope this answered your question (and didn’t give away too many spoilers 😊 )
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